Perfect Moist Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (2024)

January 5, 2018 by Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) · Updated November 3, 2023

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These are seriously the Best Chocolate Cupcake recipe that will melt in your mouth after every bite! Decadent, delicious, rich and so easy (just one bowl!), this is the one you have been looking for.

Perfect Moist Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (1)

Table of Contents

The Heart and Soul of the Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Rich Chocolate
Skill Level: Easy

Sweet Highlights:

One-Bowl Wonder: Kiss goodbye to a sink full of dishes!
Moist and Marvelous: Thanks to the use of oil as the fat component in this recipe, these cupcakes boast an incredible moistness that lasts even days after baking.
Elegantly Easy: Perfect for baking beginners and seasoned pros alike
Flavor Flexibility: These are ready to be dressed up with your favorite buttercream, ganache, or glaze.
Rapid Results: Craving chocolate in a hurry? This recipe takes you from mixing bowl to taste bud bliss in just about 30 minutes.

Perfect Moist Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (2)

Key Ingredients

These are the main ones you need:

Egg
Buttermilk
Oil
Flour
Sugar
Cocoa Powder
Baking Powder
Salt

The ingredients that provide the most moistness are the combination of the oil. buttermilk, and even the brown sugar (because of the molasses addition).

The oil replaces the butter in this recipe. It creates a moist and tender cupcake while eliminating the mixing process.

How to Make the Best Chocolate Cupcake

Prep and Line: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grab your cupcake or muffin pan and dress it up with some stylish cupcake liners.
Wet Ingredients Whisking: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, bring together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and a dash of vanilla. Give these guys a good whisk then set them aside.
Dry Ingredients: Move over to a larger bowl, and invite flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt to the party. Whisk them until the mix looks even.
Marry the Mixes: Introduce the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, whisking them together until the batter is smooth.
Hot Water: Mix in the hot water, and keep whisking until your batter is smooth.
Bake it Halfway: Scoop the batter into your cupcake liners, but only fill them halfway to give them room to rise and shine. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging on.

Perfect Moist Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (3)

Tips

Intensify: For even more chocolate flavor, replace the hot water for coffee! It gives a much deeper chocolate flavor and almost a mocha essence.
Go High-Quality: When it comes to ingredients like cocoa powder and vanilla extract, opting for high-quality options can make a world of difference. Look for a good dutch-process cocoa powder for a smoother, more robust chocolate flavor.
Perfect Your Technique: When mixing your batter, be sure to take it easy. Overmixing can lead to dense cupcakes, so mix just until your dry ingredients are incorporated.

How to Store

To ensure your chocolate cupcakes stay as fresh as possible, give them some space in an airtight container; this will be their new cozy home. If you’re planning to devour them within a day or two, a cool countertop will do just fine as their resting spot. However, for a more extended vacation, tuck them into the fridge, and they’ll stay scrumptious for up to a week; just remember, room temperature is their happy place before serving.

What to Frost with

Here are some of my favorite frostings that work really well with this recipe.

Chocolate Frosting
American Buttercream
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Caramel Frosting

More Amazing Chocolate Recipes

They seriously turn out amazing every single time, and they are so easy that I had my kids in my baking workshop making them without blinking an eye.

Want the best chocolate cake recipe that ever existed? This Chocolate Cake with a blackberry buttercream is decadent and insanely delicious.
Try myUltimate Chocolate Pound Cake recipe. It is decadent and insanely delicious.
ThisChocolate Birthday Cakeis addictive!
Love berries and chocolate like this recipe? Try myRaspberry Chocolate Cake!

*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!*

**Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!**

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe – Moist, decadent, delicious and rich, this is the best chocolate cupcake recipe you’ll ever taste!

4.58 from 28 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Ingredients

▢ 1 large egg
▢ ½ cup buttermilk
▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
▢ 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
▢ ½ cup light brown sugar packed
▢ ⅓ cup cocoa powder
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ½ cup hot water

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, add flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
In batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Lastly, mix in hot water and whisk until combined and perfectly smooth. The batter should be somewhat thin.
Add batter to cupcake liners filling only halfway and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool to room temperature before adding buttercream.

Video

Notes

For even more chocolate flavor, replace the hot water for coffee! It gives a much deeper chocolate flavor and almost a mocha essence.

Nutrition

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